Antioxidant effect of dietary tocopherol and ascorbic acid on growth and survival of Litopenaeus vannamei postlarvae

The nutritional effect of vitamin E in dietsfor Litopenaeus vannamei postlarve (PL19)was investigated. Four formulated diets withdifferent combinations of α-tocopherylacetate (α-TA), ascorbic acid (AA) andhighly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) weretested, using four replicates. No significant differences in survival wereobserved among treatments after 34 days offeeding. However, shrimp fed with a dietcontaining 2% fish oil (low n-3 HUFA content),200 mg.kg^?1 α-TA and100 mg.kg^?1 AA (diet H/E/C) showedsignificantly better growth than those fed adiet supplemented with 5% fish oil (high n-3HUFA content), 200 mg.kg^?1 α-TA and100 mg.kg^?1 AA (diet H+/E/C). Shrimp fedwith a diet containing 5% fish oil,900 mg.kg^?1 α-TA and100 mg.kg^?1 AA (diet H+/E+/C) showed a significantly higher tissue level of n-6 PUFAthan postlarvae fed diet H+/E/C. No definiteconclusion could be drawn about a possibleinteraction between α-TA and AA, since acomparison of the diet containing 5% fish oil,200 mg.kg^?1 α-TA and700 mg.kg^?1 AA (H+/E+/C+) and the dietH+/E/C did not show any significant differencesin any of the measured parameters. Theantioxidative status of the shrimp tissue(measured by means of the thiobarbituric acid(TBA) assay and expressed as nM malonaldehyde(MA) per gramme dry weight) was equal for alltreatments. Nevertheless, there was a slightlylower MA value with the diet H+/E/C+,indicating that AA may be an effectiveantioxidant in the aqueous phase and at thewater/lipid interface of the tissue. The tissuelevels of α-T and AA were highlydependent on the amounts in diets and nocorrelation between α-T and AAincorporation could be observed.     

The effect of dietary protein and total energy content on digestive enzyme activities, growth and survival of Litopenaeus setiferus (Linnaeus 1767) postlarvae

The effect of dietary protein and energy content on the activity of digestive enzymes (total proteinases, trypsin, chymotrypsin α‐amylase and lipase), and growth and survival of Litopenaeus setiferus postlarvae was investigated under controlled conditions. There was a clear relationship between the diet fed to the postlarvae, growth and survival. Highest weight gain (2110 ± 96.7%) was obtained with a 400 g kg^?1 protein and low energy diet (13.9 kJ g^?1) (P < 0.05). The optimal protein to energy ratio (P/E) estimated was 28.8 mg of protein kJ^?1. Good survival was obtained with low energy diets containing between 200 and 400 g kg^?1 protein and with high energy diets containing 300–500 g kg^?1 protein. Higher values for total proteinases, trypsin and α‐amylase were obtained with the low energy, 400 g kg^?1 protein diet. Chymotryptic activity was considerably lower than that of other proteinases and lipase activity was too low to be reliably measured with the turbidimetric method employed. Total proteinase activity was significantly lower than in experimentally grown postlarvae. The α‐amylase activity was at least two orders of magnitude higher in wild postlarvae than in animals fed with the best experimental diet. Protein requirement was related to total energy content of the diet: best growth and digestive enzyme activity coincide with the low energy, 400 g kg^?1 protein diet. These results suggest that dietary carbohydrates cannot spare protein because growth rates obtained with diets containing 200–300 g kg^?1 protein (337 and 226 g kg^?1 dextrin content, respectively) were significantly lowered.     

Nutrient values of dietary ascorbic acid (l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate) on growth, survival and stress tolerance of larval shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

l -ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (ApP) was used as a vitamin C source to investigate the ascorbic acid (AsA) requirements on growth performance and stress resistance of the larval white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei . Five isoenergetic and isonitrogenous fish meal-fish protein hydrolysate-based diets with five levels of ApP, AsA equivalent to 91.8, 188, 271, 360 and 436 mg kg⁻¹ diet were fed to triplicate groups of L. vannamei (mean initial wet weight 1 mg) for 32 days. The diet with AsA 91.8 mg kg⁻¹ showed high cumulative mortality after 10 days of feeding. After the 32-day trial, the shrimp that fed the diet had significantly lower survival and weight gain (WG, %) than those that fed 188, 271, 360 and 436 mg AsA kg⁻¹ diets. Specific growth rate (SGR, % day⁻¹) and final body wet weight (FBW, mg) showed the same pattern as WG (%). There were no significant differences in growth performance (FBW, WG and SGR) among the groups that fed 188, 271, 360 and 436 mg kg⁻¹ of AsA at the termination of feeding trial. Broken-line regression analysis on WG indicated that 191 mg AsA kg⁻¹ in the diet was the optimum for larval L. vannamei . On the contrary, dietary level of more than 360 mg AsA kg⁻¹ was needed to ensure high resistance to stressful conditions such as low dissolved oxygen stressors.     

Biochemical composition of eggsin relation to egg quality in the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica

This paper presents the relationship between egg quality and egg biochemical composition of cultured and wild Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica. Eggs were obtained by artificialinduction of maturation. Fertilization and hatching rates were used as characteristics of egg quality. Egg quality characteristics showed large variation; fertilization rate, 0–96; hatching rate, 0–84%. The biochemical composition also showed a large variation. There was no marked relationship between egg quality and fatty acid contents of eggs, except for n-6 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA). Both the fertilization and hatching ratesincreased proportionally withincreases of the -tocopherol g(-Toc) contentin eggs. A more significant correlation was found between the amount of -Toc relative to the amount of HUFA and egg quality. The results of this study show that the egg quality of Japanese eel is affected by the –Toc level, andin particular, the ratio of -Toc to HUFAin the eggs. Abbreviations: BHT – butylhydroxytoluene; EFA – essential fatty acids; FAME – fatty acid methyl esters; HPLC – high performance liquid chromatography; HUFA – highly unsaturated fatty acids; NADH – nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide; NADPH - nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate; ROS – reactive oxygen species; -Toc –-tocopherol.     

Effects of dietary chitosan on growth,survival and stress tolerance of postlarval shrimp,Litopenaeus vannamei

The effect of chitosan, a polymer of glucosamine obtained by the deacetylation of chitin, on growth, survival and stress tolerance was studied in postlarval Litopenaeus vannamei. An experiment was performed with postlarval shrimp (mean initial wet weight 1.2 mg) fed five isoenergic and isonitrogenous diets containing five supplemented levels of chitosan (0, 0.5, 1, 2 and 4 g kg^?1 diet, respectively). The five compound diets (C0, C0.5, C1, C2 and C4) sustained shrimp growth throughout the experiment. Growth performance (final body weights; weight gain; SGR: specific growth rate) in shrimp fed diet C2 was significantly higher than that in shrimp fed diets C0, C0.5 and C1 (P < 0.05), diet C4 treatment provided intermediate growth result. The survival in shrimp fed diet C1 was significantly higher than that in shrimp fed C0 diet (P < 0.05), other diets treatments gave the intermediate survival results. No significant differences were found in growth and survival between diet C2 and C4 treatments. After 9 days of a stress tolerance test, survival in shrimp fed diets C1, C2 and C4 was significantly higher than that in shrimp fed diets C0 and C0.5. We concluded from this experiment that the incorporation of a moderate dietary chitosan was beneficial to the development of postlarval L. vannamei. Considering the effect of chitosan on both growth and survival of postlarval L. vannamei, second‐degree polynomial regression of SGR and survival indicated optimum supplement of dietary chitosan at 2.67 and 2.13 g kg^?1, respectively, so the level of chitosan supplemented in the diet should be between 2.13 and 2.67 g kg^?1.     

Influence of lipid composition of live feed on growth,survival and pigmentation of turbot larvae

The effect of different lipid compositions of live feed on the survival, growth rate and pigmentation success of turbot larvae, Scophthalmus maximus (L.), was investigated. Rotifers, Brachionus plicatilis, together with the algae Tetraselmis sp., were administered until day 12, and Artemia was fed until day 27. The experimentally treated live feeds were enriched with four formulated emulsions, resulting in a gradient in the relative contents of 3 HUFA (highly unsaturated fatty acids) and in DHA (docosahexaenoic acid, 22:6 3)/EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid, 20:5 3) ratios in both the rotifers and Artemia.There were no differences in larval growth rate, and only small differences in survival rate throughout the feeding experiment, probably because of satisfactory levels of 3 HUFA in the live feed to sustain growth and survival. A correlation was obtained between the percentage of completely pigmented 27 d old turbot and the DHA/EPA ratio in the total lipids of 12 d old larvae, which again was correlated with the corresponding ratio in the live feed used. The results suggest that normal pigmentation in turbot requires dietary DHA in the early larval feeding period, and that this requirement cannot be replaced by EPA.     

Effects of dietary medicinal herbs and Bacillus on survival, growth, body composition, and digestive enzyme activity of the white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

The basal diet (C), with 0.20% medicinal herbs (M) and 0.30% Bacillus (BM1), with 0.10% medicinal herbs and 0.15% Bacillus (BM2), and with 0.30% Bacillus (B), was used to feed white shrimps (Litopenaeus vannamei) (1.91 ± 0.03 g) in order to assess survival, growth, body composition, and digestive enzyme activity. At the end of the feeding trial, survival ranged from 95.83 to 98.33% with no significant difference (P > 0.05) among all groups. Growth measured as weight gain was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in shrimp fed with BM2, BM1, and M compared to that of C. However, no significant differences were found among B, BM1, and M. In the case of specific growth rate, the shrimp fed with BM1 and BM2 exhibited significantly (P < 0.05) higher values than that of C. The contents of body moisture, crude protein, and ash seemed to be unaffected by the feed supplements, though lipid content was found to be significantly (P < 0.05) different among the treatments. The shrimp fed with BM1 and BM2 had the lowest and highest lipid contents, respectively. The digestive enzyme activity assessed using shrimp hepatopancreas revealed that the activities of amylase and protease in shrimp fed with BM2 were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than those of C at the end of the 2nd and 6th weeks. However, better performance of the specific amylase activity was shown by the shrimp fed with B at the end of the 8th week.     

Effects of dietary lipid sources on growth and fatty acid composition of juvenile shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary lipid sources on the growth performance and fatty acid (FA) composition of juvenile shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei. Six isoenergetic and isonitrogenous semi‐purified diets containing casein, solvent‐extracted soybean meal and gelatin as protein sources, were supplemented with 60 g kg⁻¹ of lipid sources. The lipid sources included: pollack fish oil (PO), pork lard (PL), soy oil (SO), peanut oil (PN), rapeseed oil (RO) and a mixture of pollack fish oil and soy oil (POSO 1 : 1 w/w). Each diet was fed to juvenile shrimp (0.10 g average weight) four times daily in triplicate tanks to apparent satiation (feeding ratio was about 8%) for 8 weeks. At the end of the experiment, weight gain, specific growth rate and protein efficiency ratio were significantly higher for shrimp fed the diet containing PO and the POSO mixture oil than the other lipid sources. The nutritional values of SO, RO, PN and PL were similar. Shrimp fed on PO, mixture oil of POSO and SO had better survival rates than the other lipid sources, and shrimp fed the PL had the lowest survival rate. There were significant differences in lipid contents of whole body and hepatopancreas amongst the dietary treatments; however, lipid contents of tail muscle were not significantly affected by the dietary lipid sources. Shrimps fed POSO diet had higher protein content in whole body than those fed the other lipid sources, and shrimp fed PO diet had highest crude protein content of the tail muscle. A high correlation was found between dietary FA composition and FA composition of whole shrimp. FA composition of the whole body was generally affected by dietary lipid sources, especially dietary unsaturated FA.     

Effects of salinity and pH on ion-transport enzyme activities, survival and growth of Litopenaeus vannamei postlarvae

Effects of the salinity and pH on ion-transport enzyme activities, survival and growth of Litopenaeus vannamei postlarvae were investigated. Shrimp were transferred from salinity 31‰ and pH 8.1 to different salinity levels of 22, 25, 28, 31 (control), and to different pH levels of 7.1, 7.6, 8.1 (control), 8.6 and 9.1. The results showed ion-transport enzyme activities and weight gains of postlarvae were significantly affected by salinity and pH variation, which had no obvious effect on survival rate. The changing salinity affected the activities of total ATPase and Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase notably (F > F_0.05), meanwhile, non-significantly to the activities of V-ATPase, HCO₃⁻-ATPase. Within 48 h of salinity changing, the activities of ATPase, Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase in each treatment group gradually increased with the sampling time and reached their climax at 48 h, and then stabilized, showing negative correlation with salinity. The changing of pH affected greatly the activities of ATPase, Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase, V-ATPase and HCO₃⁻-ATPase (F > F_0.05), the activities of ATPase, Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase in each treatment group (pH = 7.1, 7.6, 8.6, 9.1) showed peak change within 72 h and stabilized afterwards, and the Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase activities came back to the level of the control group; Meanwhile the changing extent of V-ATPase and HCO₃⁻-ATPase activity corresponded with the grads of pH, and these ATPase activities showed negative correlation with pH changing, the activities of V-ATPase, HCO₃⁻-ATPase in postlarvae of each treatment group came to stable level after 24 h. The experiment also indicated the strength order of these ion-transport enzyme activities were as follows: Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase > V-ATPase > HCO₃⁻-ATPase. Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase was the chief undertaker of osmoregulation under the salinity effects, while V-ATPase and HCO₃⁻-ATPase were the chief osmoregulation undertakers under pH changing. In different salinity environment, the contributions of Na⁺-K⁺-ATPase, V-ATPase and HCO₃⁻-ATPase of L. vannamei postlarvae approximately accounted for 62.0-78.0%, 15.9-29.0% and 2.03-4.12% of ATPase activities in total, respectively. Meanwhile, in different pH medium, the contributions of these ATPases approximately accounted for 50.7-67.4%, 21.3-31.8% and 2.15-7.90% of total ATPase activities, respectively. Weight gain of shrimp transferred to salinity 31 (control) and 28‰ was significantly higher than that of shrimp reared at 25 and 22‰, and weight gain of shrimp transferred to pH 8.1 (control) and 8.6 was significantly higher that that of shrimp transferred to pH 7.1, 7.6 and 9.1. It was suggested that during the process of desalting and culturing of postlarvae, the salinity changing should not exceed 3 and pH variety not more than 0.5.     

Effects of dietary lipids on body composition and liver function in juvenile red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of different concentrations of dietary lipids on body composition and liver function in juvenile red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus. Diets were formulated to contain 40% crude protein from solvent-extracted menhaden fish meal and 0, 7, 14 or 21% lipid from menhaden fish oil. The basal diet, without supplemental fish oil, contained lipid at 0.4% of dry weight. The diets were fed to groups of 25 juvenile red drum initially averaging 7.3 ± 0.18 g fish^–1 in a recirculating culture system for 8 weeks and weight gain was recorded. After an additional 8 weeks, 16 fish from each treatment were sacrificed and the following measurements were recorded: hepatosomatic index (HSI), intraperitoneal fat (IPF) ratio, and liver -tocopherol, malondialdehyde (MDA) formation, and cytochrome P-4501A activity (measured as 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity). The activity of alanine and aspartate aminotransferases and concentrations of -tocopherol also were measured in plasma.Weight gain was significantly (p<0.05) affected by dietary lipid concentration, with values ranging from 361% of initial weight for fish fed the basal diet to 527% of initial weight for fish fed the diet containing 7% lipid. The HSI and IPF ratio values also were significantly affected by lipid with the lowest values recorded for fish fed the basal diet and the highest values observed in fish fed the diet containing 21% lipid. Increasing dietary lipid significantly increased oxidative stress as reflected in reduced -tocopherol in liver and plasma and increased MDA formation in the liver, although no overt pathological signs were observed. These findings suggest that lipid concentrations between 7 and 14%, when the diet contains 60 IU vitamin E kg^–1, are likely to limit oxidative stress and result in normal physiological responses of red drum.     

Comparative composition and shelf-life of fillets of wild and cultured turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) and Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus)

Turbot and Atlantic halibut are highly valued fish species. However,very little is known about fillet shelf-life characteristics associated withboth species. Thus, fillet -tocopherol content and proximate compositionof wild turbot (1.5 kg) and Atlantic halibut (1.1 kg)caught off the south coast of Ireland and the north-west coast of Iceland,respectively, were investigated. In addition, the susceptibility of fillets, storedunder retail conditions, to lipid oxidation and colour change was studied.Proximate composition analysis showed that turbot had significantly highermoisture (P < 0.001) and lower protein (P < 0.001) contents compared toAtlantic halibut. Atlantic halibut incorporated significantly higher (P <0.001) levels of -tocopherol into fillets than turbot. Over 14 days ofstorage on ice, fillets from Atlantic halibut exhibited significantly lower (P =0.020) levels of lipid oxidation than those of turbot. However, malondialdehyde(MDA) concentrations were generally very low, never exceeding 0.6 gg^–1 fillet. Turbot maintained a significantly higher (P< 0.001) pH over the storage period. The lightness (L^* values) offillets from both species increased over 14 days of storage, but wassignificantly higher (P < 0.001) in Atlantic halibut than in turbot. Turbotdeveloped a relatively intense yellow colour during storage (decrease in hueangle and increase in b^* values), whereas this was not the case forAtlantic halibut. The results of this study demonstrate that fillets of wildAtlantic halibut stored on ice, were less prone to lipid oxidation anddiscolouration than those of wild turbot. However, quality changes in turbotwere very small showing that both fish have tremendous shelf-life capacities interms of lipid oxidation. These findings are considered in the context of knownmaterial for farmed fish.     

Effects of dietary Bacillus and medicinal herbs on the growth, digestive enzyme activity, and serum biochemical parameters of the shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei

White shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) was fed six different formulations of medicinal herbs (MH) and Bacillus in a feeding trial conducted for 56 days. The survival, growth, digestive enzyme activity, and serum biochemical parameters were assessed. A basal diet without MH and Bacillus was served as the control. At the end of feeding trial, survival ranged from 76.19% to 84.76% with no significant differences (P > 0.05) among all groups. Growth measured as final weight, specific growth rate (SGR), protein efficiency ratio (PER), protein productive value (PPV), and feed efficiency ratio (FER) were improved with increased dietary MH and Bacillus. Shrimp fed 0.2% MH and 0.3% Bacillus (Diet 23) were found to have the best growth performance. For shrimp fed Diet 23 final weight and SGR were significantly (P < 0.05) higher than for controls. The digestive enzyme activity of protease and amylase in hepatopancreas and intestines were significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced by the feed supplements, however amylase of the hepatopancreas was not affected. Serum protein and glucose content were enhanced by the supplement of MH and Bacillus. Serum cholesterol in shrimp of high Bacillus level groups was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than in the control group. However, no significant difference (P > 0.05) in serum Triacylglycerols between supplemented groups and control was found. Results revealed that the combined MH and Bacillus in diet could enhance growth because it can improve digestive enzyme activity and digestive metabolism.     

Comparison of growth and survival of white shrimp postlarvae (Litopenaeus vannamei) fed dried Artemia biomass versus four commercial feeds and three crustacean meals

The use of dried Artemia biomass meal as an exclusive feed for postlarval white shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) was compared with four commercial feeds and three crustacean meals in a series of trials. Postlarvae (PL1–PL6) were stocked at a density of 1.5–2.5/litres in 16 tanks (100 litres volume) and fed, ad libidum, five times a day, over 23–29 days. Feeding postlarval shrimp with dried Artemia biomass resulted in a significantly larger size than feeding with three of the commercial feeds, and the crustacean meals. There was no significant size difference observed in animals fed with Artemia biomass and the commercial 'Golden Pearls' feed for postlarvae, however the coefficient of variation among the size of the 'Golden Pearls' fed animals was significantly higher. The weight increase of animals fed with Artemia biomass was higher than in animals fed with all the tested feeds. The survival rate was not significantly different in animals fed with Artemia flakes from 'Salt Creek', 'Bio-Marine', 'Golden Pearls' and Artemia biomass, however the survival rate was significantly larger in animals fed with Artemia biomass than in animals fed with the crustacean meals and 'Artemac.' Results suggest that dried Artemia biomass is a well-suited feed for postlarval L. vannamei.     

Nutritional evaluation of fatty acids for the open thelycum shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei: I. Effect of dietary linoleic and linolenic acids at different concentrations and ratios on juvenile shrimp growth, survival and fatty acid composition

A 6‐week feeding trial was conducted to evaluate the nutritional value of dietary linoleic (18:2n‐6, LOA) and linolenic (18:3n‐3, LNA) acids for juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei by determining their effects on growth, survival and fatty acid composition of hepatopancreas and muscle tissue. Diets were formulated to contain 5% total lipid. A basal diet contained only palmitic and stearic acids, each at 2.5% of diet. Six diets contained one of three levels (0.25, 0.5 and 1%) of either LOA or LNA, and three diets had different ratios of LNA/LOA (1, 3, 9) at a combined inclusion level of 0.5% of diet. An additional diet contained 0.5% of a mixture of n‐3 highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA). The fatty acid profile of hepatopancreas and muscle of shrimp reflected the profile of the diets. HUFA of the n‐3 family showed higher nutritional value than LOA or LNA for juvenile L. vannamei by producing significantly (P < 0.05) higher final weight and weight gain. Neither LOA nor LNA, alone or in combination, improved growth significantly compared with shrimp fed the basal diet.Thus, dietary requirements for LOA and LNA were not demonstrated under these experimental conditions.     

Effect of salinity on survival, growth, oxygen consumption and ammonia-N excretion of juvenile whiteleg shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei

In this study, we tested the lower salinity tolerance of juvenile shrimps (Litopenaeus vannamei) at a relatively low temperature (20 °C). In the first of two laboratory experiments, we first abruptly transferred shrimps (6.91 ± 0.05 g wet weight, mean ± SE) from the rearing salinity (35 000 mg L^?1) to salinities of 5000, 15 000, 25 000, 35 000 (control) and 40 000 mg L^?1 at 20 °C. The survival of L. vannamei juvenile was not affected by salinities from 15 000 to 40 000 mg L^?1 during the 96‐h exposure periods. Shrimps exposed to 5000 mg L^?1 were significantly affected by salinity, with a survival of 12.5% after 96 h. The 24‐, 48‐ and 96‐h lethal salinity for 50% (LS₅₀) were 7020, 8510 and 9540 mg L^?1 respectively. In the second experiment, shrimps (5.47 ± 0.09 g wet weight, mean ± SE) were acclimatized to the different salinity levels (5000, 15 000, 25 000, 35 000 and 40 000 mg L^?1) and then maintained for 30 days at 20 °C. Results showed that the survival was significantly lower at 5000 mg L^?1 than at other salinity levels, but the final wet weight under 5000 mg L^?1 treatment was significantly higher than those under other treatments (P<0.05). Feed intake (FI) of shrimp under 5000 mg L^?1 was significantly lower than those of shrimp under 150 00–40 000 mg L^?1; food conversion efficiency (FCE), however, showed a contrasting change (P<0.05). Furthermore, salinity significantly influenced the oxygen consumption rates, ammonia‐N excretion rates and the O/N ratio of test shrimps (P<0.05). The results obtained in our work provide evidence that L. vannamei juveniles have limited capacity to tolerate salinities <10 000 mg L^?1 at a relatively low temperature (20 °C). Results also show that L. vannamei juvenile can recover from the abrupt salinity change between 15 000 and 40 000 mg L^?1 within 24 h.     

Nutritional evaluation of fatty acids for the open thelycum shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei: II. Effect of dietary n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated and highly unsaturated fatty acids on juvenile shrimp growth, survival, and fatty acid composition

This study evaluated the nutritional value of dietary n‐3 and n‐6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) such as linoleic (LOA) and linolenic (LNA) acids, and highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFA) such as arachidonic (AA), eicosapentaenoic (EPA), and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids for juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei, based on their effects on growth, survival, and fatty acid composition of hepatopancreas and muscle tissue. Diets contained 5% total lipid. A basal diet contained palmitic and stearic acids each at 2.5% of diet. Five diets contained 0.5% dry weight of LOA, LNA, AA, EPA, or DHA. An additional diet evaluated HUFA in combination by supplementing at 0.5% of diet, a mixture of n‐3 HUFA. All HUFA showed higher nutritional value than PUFA for shrimp and produced significantly (P < 0.05) higher final weight, weight gain, and total lipid in shrimp muscle. Fatty acid profiles of shrimp tissues reflected the composition of the dietary lipids. In general, saturated fatty acids were more abundant in the neutral factions, while PUFA and HUFA were more abundant in the polar fractions of tissues. Under these experimental conditions, HUFA had much greater nutritional value than PUFA for juvenile L. vannamei; moreover, dietary requirements for PUFA were not demonstrated.     

Determination of primary structure of amberjack myosin heavy chain and its relationship with structural stability of various fish myosin rods

The structural stability of fish myosin depends upon species and temperatures of water in which fish live. Primary, secondary, and quaternary structures of myosin heavy chain (MyHC) from three species of fish living at different temperature ranges have been compared with those of rabbit MyHC in order to investigate the differences in stability. Primary structure of MyHC, although being accessible for warm-water and cold-water fish (carp and walleye pollack), was not available in previous for tropical-water fish literature; so in this study primary structure of MyHC of the tropical-water fish amberjack has been determined by cloning and sequencing its cDNA. The MyHC has 1938 amino acid residues (AA), which are almost as much as as those of carp and walleye pollack. The amberjack MyHC is 91–95% homologous with other fish and rabbit MyHCs. There is a discernible difference between animal species with stable myosin rod (amberjack, carp, and rabbit) and walleye pollack with unstable rod. Stable rod species have a high probability of forming coiled-coil around the COOH-terminal end of the rod, while the pollack has a low coiled-coil formation probability. In addition, the average scores of the coiled-coil for myosin rod were rabbit (1.738) > amberjack (1.691) > carp (1.680) > walleye pollack (1.674) which correlated exactly with the observed stability. The results suggest that coiled-coil forming ability, particularly around the COOH-terminal end, directs structural stability of fish myosin rod.     

Comparative study of antioxidant defence mechanisms in marine fish fed variable levels of oxidised oil and vitamin E

The aim of the study was to compare theantioxidant systems in juvenile marine fish ofcommercial importance to European aquaculture,namely turbot (Scophthalmus maximus),halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) andgilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata). Thepresent dietary trial was specifically designedto investigate the antioxidant effects ofvitamin E under moderate oxidising conditions,including high dietary levels of highlyunsaturated fatty acids and the feeding ofoxidised oils. The objective was to induce astressful pro-oxidant status to enablecharacterisation of the biochemical responsesto peroxidative stress without causingunnecessary suffering to the experimentalanimals or high mortalities during the trials. Both sea bream and turbot showed excellentgrowth, whereas growth was poorer in halibut.Dietary oxidised oil significantly reducedgrowth in turbot and especially in halibut, butnot in sea bream. Vitamin E improved growth insea bream fed oxidised oil but not in turbot orhalibut. However, vitamin E supplementationappeared to improve survival in all threespecies. In sea bream and turbot, liverantioxidant defence enzyme activities weregenerally increased by feeding peroxidised oiland reduced by vitamin E. Conversely, inhalibut, the liver antioxidant defence enzymeactivities were not increased by feedingperoxidised oil and only superoxide dismutasewas reduced by feeding vitamin E. Consistentwith these data, feeding oxidised oil increasedlipid peroxidation products in halibut, butgenerally not in sea bream or turbot.Furthermore, lipid peroxidation products weregenerally reduced by dietary vitamin E in bothsea bream and turbot, but not in halibut. Therefore, halibut liver antioxidant defenceenzymes did not respond to dietary oxidised oilor vitamin E as occurred in turbot and,especially sea bream. This resulted inincreased levels of lipid peroxides in halibutcompared to turbot and sea bream in fish givendietary oxidised oil. In addition, supplementalvitamin E did not reduce lipid peroxides inhalibut as it did in turbot and sea bream. Theincreased peroxidation stress in halibut mayaccount for their poorer growth and survival incomparison to turbot and especially sea bream.Halibut were reared at a lower temperature,although relatively high for halibut, thaneither turbot or sea bream but they were alsoslightly younger/smaller fish and possibly,therefore, more developmentally immature, andeither or all of these factors may be importantin the lack of response of the liver enzymes inhalibut.     

Effects of modulatory agents on neurally-mediated responses of trout intestinal smooth musclein vitro

Mediators and mechanisms responsible for the inhibitory modulation of trout intestinal smooth muscle were examined using a series of putative mediators and substances known to modulate neurotransmission in mammalian systems. Frequency response relationships to transmural stimulation and concentration response relationships to 5-hydroxytryptamine, carbachol, and substance P were established on paired segments of rainbow trout intestinein vitro in the presence and absence of putative modulatory agents. Modulation of neurally-mediated contractions of trout intestine was achieved with dibutyryl cyclic AMP and forskolin, agents that increase intracellular levels of cyclic AMP. The effect appears to be at the level of the smooth muscle, since the adenylate cyclase activator, forskolin, inhibited muscarinic and serotoninergic contractions as well as transmurally stimulated contractions. Substance P-induced contractions were unaffected by forskolin. The endogenous agonists/neurotransmitters which would increase cyclic AMP levels in rainbow trout intestinal smooth muscle are as yet unknown. The effects do not appear to be modulated by vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), calcitonin, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), or agents that activate -adrenoceptors. Prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) and ₂-adrenergenic agonists are possible agents which will decrease contractility of the smooth muscle. They were only active in the proximal intestine and on transmurally stimulated contractions. The effects of both PGE₂ and ₂-agonists appear to be prejunctional, decreasing release of contractile neurotransmitters in the enteric nervous system.     

The effect of dietary n-3 HUFA levels and DHA/EPA ratios on growth, survival and osmotic stress tolerance of Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis larvae

The effect of varying levels of dietary n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid (HUFA) and docosahexaenoic acid/eicosapentaenoic acid (DHA/EPA) ratios on growth, survival and osmotic stress tolerance of Eriocheir sinensis zoea larvae was studied in two separate experiments. In experiment I, larvae were fed rotifers and Artemia enriched with ICES emulsions with 0, 30 and 50% total n-3 HUFA levels but with the same DHA/EPA ratio of 0.6. In experiment II, larvae were fed different combinations of enriched rotifers and Artemia, in which, rotifers were enriched with emulsions containing 30% total n-3 HUFA, but different DHA/EPA ratio of 0.6, 2 and 4; while Artemia were enriched with the same emulsions, but DHA/EPA ratio of 0.6 and 4. In both experiments, un-enriched rotifers cultured on baker's yeast and newly-hatched Artemia nauplii were used as control diets. Larvae were fed rotifers at zoea 1 and zoea 2 stages; upon reaching zoea 3 stage, Artemia was introduced.Experiment I revealed no significant effect of prey enrichment on the survival of megalopa among treatments, but higher total n-3 HUFA levels significantly enhanced larval development (larval stage index, LSI) and resulted in higher individual dry body weight of megalopa. Furthermore higher dietary n-3 HUFA levels also resulted in better tolerance to salinity stress. Experiment II indicated that at the same total n-3 HUFA level, larvae continuously receiving a low dietary DHA/EPA ratio had significantly lower survival at the megalopa stage and inferior individual body weight at the megalopa stage, but no negative effect was observed on larval development (LSI). The ability to endure salinity stress of zoea 3, zoea 5 and megalopa fed diets with higher DHA/EPA ratio was also improved.